The Nation Newspaper

Tag: appearance

  • Budget: Reps insist on Minister’s appearance

    Budget: Reps insist on Minister’s appearance

    The House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, has said it should not be held responsible for the late passage of the 2018 Appropriation Bill.

    The lawmakers said they are ready to accept the request of the Presidency for an expedited passage of the budget.

    The House however said for an early passage of the  money bill, heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must respond swiftly to its invitation for budget sessions without undue excuses.

    The warning followed the refusal of the House Committee on Commerce to entertain question session with the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, who represented the Minister, Okechukwu Enalemah at the Committee’s budget session yesterday.

    Before the appearance of the Minister of State, Committee Chairman, Sylvester Ogbaga had warned that heads of MDAs that failed to appear for budget session risk his agency having to cope with zero allocation for the 2018 fiscal year.

  • Sally Mbanefo makes cameo appearance

    One woman who has been conspicuously missing from the social scene is Sally Mbanefo. Ever since the Presidency abruptly terminated her tenure as the boss of the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), pretty Sally had withdrawn into her cocoon.

    But even a fish comes up to the surface of the water now and then. After months of no show on the social radar, Sally was finally spotted at the recent launch of a breast and gynaecology centre in Lagos.

    Dressed in a cute black sleeveless outfit, she was all smiles as she mingled with other guests. She even took photographs with the founder of Genevieve magazine, Betty Iraboh.

    It will be recalled that the fair-complexioned beauty was recently relieved of her duties at the NTDC by President Muhammadu Buhari. Since then, Sally, who is famous for her colourful fashion sense, has been lying low.

  • Toriola not giving up on seventh Olympics appearance

    Toriola not giving up on seventh Olympics appearance

    Despite his inability to get an automatic ticket at the last African Games in Congo Brazzaville, Segun Toriola believes his dream of playing his seventh Olympics in Rio, Brazil is achievable.

    Toriola just needed to make it to the semifinal of the singles event of African Games to automatically qualify for the Olympics but he was edged out in the quarterfinal by Chinese-born Congo Brazzaville’s Wang Jianan.

    However, Toriola, who celebrated his 41st birthday in Brazzaville is at present the most decorated athlete in the history of the African Games having won 16 gold medals since making his debut at the games in 1991.

    As it is, Toriola will be Nigeria’s sole flagbearer when the continental Olympics qualifiers hold in Sudan next year after Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri secured his place in the four-man team that qualified at the African Games in Brazzaville.

    “I think I still have a chance to make it to the Olympics because it was unfortunate that I could not make it in Brazzaville. I tried my best but in table tennis, things are unpredicatable. I am hoping that when the final qualifiers hold in Khartoum, Sudan in January 2016, I can make it to Brazil. It is the dream of every player to play at the Olympics and I am eager to play my last Olympics in Rio,” Toriola told SportingLife.

    According to the qualification rules set by the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), minimum of two players are expected to qualify from each country while 12 players made of six male and six female will qualify from Africa for the Olympics.

    ATTF President, Khaled El-Salhy told SportingLife that Nigeria and Congo Brazzaville can only present two players made up of one male and one female for the Sudan qualifiers as two of its players have already booked their places at the Olympics.

    For Egypt, he said, the North African has already completed its quotas for the Olympics as four of its players – Omar and Khalid Assar for male and Dina Meshref and Nadeen El-Dawlatly have booked their spots at the Olympics and with this, Egypt cannot present any of its players for the Sudan qualifiers.

  • Uefa confirms Ambrose UCL appearance

    Uefa confirms Ambrose UCL appearance

    • As Legia Warsaw lose appeal

    Efe Ambrose’s Celtic will remain in the Champions League after Legia Warsaw lost their appeal to have their ban overturned on Thursday.

    The Polish side had hoped UEFA’s appeals body would reinstate them after they were demoted to the Europa League for fielding an ineligible player during the second leg of their Champions League qualifying game against the Scottish champions.

    But Legia co-owner Dariusz Mioduski has confirmed that the club will now take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, tweeting: ‘Unfortunately for now football is not winning… We are going to CAS.’

    Legia president Boguslaw Lesnodorski echoed Mioduski’s pledge to take the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

    He wrote on Twitter: ‘Negative decision, it’s hard even to comment, we are using the CAS (we plan to tomorrow) and otherwise we are focused only on the games.’

    Legia believed Bartosz Bereszynski suspension had been served after he missed both legs of the previous qualifier against St Patrick’s Athletic as well as the first leg against Celtic, but their failure to register him for the game against St Patrick’s proved costly.

    Mioduski released a statement through the club’s official website which stressed Legia’s determination to keep fighting for Champions League reinstatement.

  • Breakup rumour: P-square makes public appearance

    Breakup rumour: P-square makes public appearance

    Sensational twin singers, Peter and Paul Okoye, on Saturday, April 26, made their first public appearance together at the Ibiza House Party at Piccolo Mondo hosted by top model, Sarah Ofili.

    This came a week after speculations that they were considering going their separate ways.

    It was gathered that Peter Okoye and his brother cum manager, Jude Okoye, had arrived at the party before Paul Okoye and his wife strolled into the V.I.P section a few minutes after.

    Others in attendance were Don Flex, their choreographer; Tony Okoye, their brother and Cynthia Morgan, a fast-rising dancehall act. Phyno also came to the party with the singing duo who partied for a couple of hours before leaving.

    For the better part of last week, the music group was said to be on the verge of collapse, following disagreement that reportedly threatened their brand endorsement deal with the telecommunication company, Globacom.